Are You A Senior And Your Knee Hurts All The Time? You May Have Osteoarthritis
Posted on: 18 October 2017
If you are feeling pain in your knee this could be due to osteoarthritis. In some cases, you can treat the problem with medication but may need to have surgery to repair. With osteoarthritis the cartilage in your knee wears away so your bones rub together. Below are some symptoms you will have if you have this, as well as some treatment options.
Pain
If you have osteoarthritis, this problem you will feel slight pain in the beginning that gradually gets worse. In the beginning, your knee may hurt when you wake up in the morning or after you have sat for a long time. You may also notice pain in your knee while climbing stairs and or kneeling. Over time, it will while you walk normally.
When the pain gets bad enough to prevent you from falling asleep or to wake you up in the middle of the night, it is time to see your doctor.
Swelling and Tenderness
Your knee will also swell and feel tender. This is due to bone spurs or you may have extra fluid in your knee. When you touch your skin, it may feel warm and look red. You can place an ice pack on your knee to help relieve some of the swelling, which should then help with pain.
Grinding and Popping
You may feel your knee grind as you move it or hear popping and cracking sounds in your knees as you move. This will happen when all the cartilage in your knee wears away. This is because your bones rub together causing friction and sound.
Treatment for Osteoarthritis
In the beginning, the doctor can treat this problem with over the counter pain medications and anti-inflammatory drugs. If your pain is very bad, the doctor can give you steroid injections in your knee to help relieve the pain. These injections may give you relief for quite some time.
If the problem persists, you will need to have knee surgery. In most cases, the doctor will suggest that you have a complete knee replacement. This will ensure that you are pain free once you heal. With this surgery your bad knee is completely removed and replaced with a prosthetic that is generally made of metal or ceramic. The doctor will send you to physical therapy for some time after the surgery to help get your knee back to normal again.
Talk to an orthopedic doctor, such as at Omaha Orthopedic Clinic & Sports Medicine PC, to learn much more about osteoarthritis in the knee.
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